Bogus story about GE trips up AP

NEW YORK - The Associated Press mistakenly published a story Wednesday about General Electric Co. that was based on a fake news release.

The fake release said that General Electric, responding to criticism over the amount of taxes it pays, would repay a $3.2 billion tax refund for 2010 to the Treasury Department.

The fake release, which was e-mailed to the AP, included a GE logo and a link to a website designed to look like GE's website. The AP published a 90-word story based on the release. Thirty-five minutes later, AP withdrew the story and advised its customers that the story was a hoax.